Neuchâtel Castle dominates the city from the hillside above the old town, a compact ensemble of towers and walls that dates from the twelfth century, though heavily modified in later centuries. For most of its history it served as the seat of the local counts and later as a cantonal administrative building; today it still houses the cantonal government offices, which means public access is limited but free guided tours run on certain days.
The yellow sandstone of the castle — the same golden stone that gives all of Neuchâtel its warm colour — glows in afternoon light. The climb up from the old town takes ten minutes and the view over the lake and toward the Alps is worth it on a clear day even if you don't enter.
The collegiate church immediately adjacent is the more rewarding interior. Its cenotaph — a raised tomb monument from the 1370s with painted stone figures of the counts and their wives — is genuinely extraordinary and almost entirely unknown outside Switzerland.